1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Zoot Suit. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?” Zoot Suit follows the experiences of Henry, his friends (Joey, Tommy, and Smiley) and the rest of the 38th Street gang during the early 1940’s in Los Angeles, California.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? The stasis of the play is interrupted by the fight that breaks out between Henry and Rafas at the dance in the beginning of the play. Their fight leads Rafas to seek revenge for his humiliating loss and trash Henry’s car at the Sleepy Lagoon. In retaliation, the 38th street gang all come to the Lagoon only to find that Rafas’ gang has left. At the Lagoon, they crash a local party, the members of which begin to fight them (thinking they are the Rafas gang come back for a second round of fighting). This fight leads to the murder that Henry and his batos are accused of and jailed for.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? This is the night that Henry Reyna gets arrested for the Sleepy Lagoon murder.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrustion.) Over the course of the play, the following question arises: “Does Henry evade the prejudiced judicial system and eventually get out of jail?” By the end of the play, Henry’s case gets appealed and he is let out of prison. However, it is clear (exemplified by Joey’s arrest) that the pachucos will never truly be out of the law’s racial fire.
5. Use Henry to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a charcter. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles Henry desperately wants to banish the zoot-suiter stereotype that is perpetuated by the cycle of violence and gang fights. However, he faces many obstacles throughout the play, both internal and external, that hinder the achievement of his goal. Internally, Henry struggles to resist the malevolence of el Pachuco in order to quell the fighting in an attempt to diminish the prejudiced stereotype (Henry against a part of himself). El Pachuco is a conceptual character (that interacts only with Henry) that represents the part of Henry that is the heartless, Pachuco gang leader. Throughout the play, el Pachuco tempts and taunts Henry for various decisions that he makes, encouraging suave skepticism and cool distrust with Henry. Fighting against these tendencies, Henry struggles to open up to and trust Alice and George and resists violence if he can help it. By the end of the play, Henry is able to find reconciliation with the part of him embodied by el Pachuco. On the other hand, Henry is also faced with various external obstacles: the prejudiced judicial system that is determined to classify him as a stereotype (the dangerous, zoot-suit-wearing criminal) (Henry against society and the law). Throughout the play, Henry is attacked and abused by the law and it’s biased enforcers as they stubbornly and blindly label him. We see Henry trying to defy and transcend this label by resisting unnecessary fights and playing by the legal rules.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Zoot Suit. There are more than one. I think one of the most theatrical moments of Zoot Suit is when the marines strip the suit off of el Pachuco, leaving him in only a loin cloth. This moment shocks the audience with its inhumanity and degradation not only of a Mexican-American individual, but of the entire Chicano culture as well. Another theatrical scene is the back and forth letters between Alice and the boys while they are in jail. Despite being written correspondence, these conversations are portrayed as though they are happening in real-time, catching the audience’s attention. Not only do these interactions reveal the development of their emotional attachments to and respect for Alice, we also gain vast insight into her character and why she is here fighting for their freedom.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Zoot Suit. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) Some of the images in Zoot Suit are el Pachuco being stripped by the marines, Rudy’s being attacked while/because he was wearing a zoot suit, and Joey being arrested at the end of the play. When the group of marines strip El Pachuco, it makes it clear to the audience that this play is about the degradation and discrimination against an entire culture. Later on in the play, we learn that Rudy was also stripped by a group of sailors because he was wearing a zoot suit. This anecdote makes it very clear that while the zoot suit is a cultural icon (for Chicanos especially), it also becomes a red target on the backs of those who wear them. Finally, the image of Joey being arrested at the end of the play makes it clear that, although Henry and the boys got out of prison, they have not escaped the discrimination and prejudice that is rampant in that time’s society.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Zoot Suit. Some of the themes that arise in Zoot Suit are gang violence, prejudice and racism, stereotyping, slanted legal systems,
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Zoot Suit? The concept of family in Zoot Suit extends outward from blood relation to include close friends and cultural members. This broad definition of family is characterized by unconditional loyalty and mutual unity. It is this bond that holds the boys together, even when hope becomes slim and they are stuck in jail; regardless of what occurs, they stick together.
Zoot Suit follows the experiences of Henry, his friends (Joey, Tommy, and Smiley) and the rest of the 38th Street gang during the early 1940’s in Los Angeles, California.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The stasis of the play is interrupted by the fight that breaks out between Henry and Rafas at the dance in the beginning of the play. Their fight leads Rafas to seek revenge for his humiliating loss and trash Henry’s car at the Sleepy Lagoon. In retaliation, the 38th street gang all come to the Lagoon only to find that Rafas’ gang has left. At the Lagoon, they crash a local party, the members of which begin to fight them (thinking they are the Rafas gang come back for a second round of fighting). This fight leads to the murder that Henry and his batos are accused of and jailed for.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the night that Henry Reyna gets arrested for the Sleepy Lagoon murder.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrustion.)
Over the course of the play, the following question arises: “Does Henry evade the prejudiced judicial system and eventually get out of jail?” By the end of the play, Henry’s case gets appealed and he is let out of prison. However, it is clear (exemplified by Joey’s arrest) that the pachucos will never truly be out of the law’s racial fire.
5. Use Henry to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a charcter. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles
Henry desperately wants to banish the zoot-suiter stereotype that is perpetuated by the cycle of violence and gang fights. However, he faces many obstacles throughout the play, both internal and external, that hinder the achievement of his goal.
Internally, Henry struggles to resist the malevolence of el Pachuco in order to quell the fighting in an attempt to diminish the prejudiced stereotype (Henry against a part of himself). El Pachuco is a conceptual character (that interacts only with Henry) that represents the part of Henry that is the heartless, Pachuco gang leader. Throughout the play, el Pachuco tempts and taunts Henry for various decisions that he makes, encouraging suave skepticism and cool distrust with Henry. Fighting against these tendencies, Henry struggles to open up to and trust Alice and George and resists violence if he can help it. By the end of the play, Henry is able to find reconciliation with the part of him embodied by el Pachuco.
On the other hand, Henry is also faced with various external obstacles: the prejudiced judicial system that is determined to classify him as a stereotype (the dangerous, zoot-suit-wearing criminal) (Henry against society and the law). Throughout the play, Henry is attacked and abused by the law and it’s biased enforcers as they stubbornly and blindly label him. We see Henry trying to defy and transcend this label by resisting unnecessary fights and playing by the legal rules.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Zoot Suit. There are more than one.
I think one of the most theatrical moments of Zoot Suit is when the marines strip the suit off of el Pachuco, leaving him in only a loin cloth. This moment shocks the audience with its inhumanity and degradation not only of a Mexican-American individual, but of the entire Chicano culture as well. Another theatrical scene is the back and forth letters between Alice and the boys while they are in jail. Despite being written correspondence, these conversations are portrayed as though they are happening in real-time, catching the audience’s attention. Not only do these interactions reveal the development of their emotional attachments to and respect for Alice, we also gain vast insight into her character and why she is here fighting for their freedom.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Zoot Suit. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Some of the images in Zoot Suit are el Pachuco being stripped by the marines, Rudy’s being attacked while/because he was wearing a zoot suit, and Joey being arrested at the end of the play. When the group of marines strip El Pachuco, it makes it clear to the audience that this play is about the degradation and discrimination against an entire culture. Later on in the play, we learn that Rudy was also stripped by a group of sailors because he was wearing a zoot suit. This anecdote makes it very clear that while the zoot suit is a cultural icon (for Chicanos especially), it also becomes a red target on the backs of those who wear them. Finally, the image of Joey being arrested at the end of the play makes it clear that, although Henry and the boys got out of prison, they have not escaped the discrimination and prejudice that is rampant in that time’s society.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Zoot Suit.
Some of the themes that arise in Zoot Suit are gang violence, prejudice and racism, stereotyping, slanted legal systems,
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Zoot Suit?
The concept of family in Zoot Suit extends outward from blood relation to include close friends and cultural members. This broad definition of family is characterized by unconditional loyalty and mutual unity. It is this bond that holds the boys together, even when hope becomes slim and they are stuck in jail; regardless of what occurs, they stick together.